Genesee County: 50 Get Unemployment Benefits On The Job

FLINT (WWJ/AP) – An audit by Genesee County officials has found that more than 50 government employees have collected about $30,000 in unemployment benefits while still on the job.

The Flint Journal reports that county officials are working through the cases to determine if the double-dipping was intentional. Ten cases could involve fraud of more than $1,000 and are being investigated by the sheriff’s department.

The audit comes after the July arrest of seven county employees. They were suspended from their jobs indefinitely and charged with unemployment compensation fraud.

AFSCME Local 496 Chapter 01 Chairman Matt Spodney says he doesn’t believe the 53 employees are part of his union. But he says it could be a case of poor communication with seasonal and other employees who didn’t intend to commit fraud.

Commissioner Ted Henry, D-Clayton Twp., told the paper he understands how an employee may have filed to extend unemployment benefits because of a confusion over a start date but said that won’t explain cases that involve multiple weeks and thousands of dollars in apparent over-payments.

Overpayments ranged from $9.25 to $3,620, according to a listing of the cases requested by The Journal.